Planet Earth, the only one of the known celestial bodies to be enriched with life forms, has limited quantities of resources. The raw materials and energy sources are severely depleted and the Earth is heavily degraded.
“We found ourselves” in the words of Klaus Schwab in his exact but unfortunately mostly technical text, “on the brink of a revolution that will fundamentally change the way we live, work and communicate with each other. What we interpret as a fourth industrial revolution, may not be compared to anything else humanity has experienced so far considering its dimension, scope and complexity”. (Schwab, 2016, pg. 8). What has been overlooked, or rather insufficiently elaborated in this text is namely that:
– primarily, the Earth has limited quantities of resources thus preventing constant growth,
– secondary, the population is continuously increasing (mostly in the undeveloped areas)
– thirdly, the questions related to economy and sociology may only be solved through a system of socially responsible management (the term responsibility may only be found on page 36).
The era of capitalistic socio-economic system presuming constant growth and the desire for profit, driven by the greed of humankind, is coming to an end due to the course of nature. Nevertheless, the constant economic growth is presented as a remedy to all the sorrows, a mantra being constantly repeated by politicians and government economists, a fetish, a belief, almost a religion. Regardless, an establishment of a new post-capitalistic (or at least post-neoliberal that replaced liberal) socio-economic system is emerging, which will be centred around honouring the trinity of market economy and the society: liberty, equality, fraternity i.e. the natural assets, social fairness and the corresponding solidarity that will not destroy the creative ambitiousness and the conditions governed by nature, which is crucial for the existence of mankind. We will thus need to let go of our mantra about growth. Because it comes with a price. And nature is the first casualty. Also, economics become pointless if we lose the future.
Capital that has been so obediently served by all countries during the past centuries will continue to play a crucial role in the post-capitalistic socio-economic circumstances (or the post-modernistic times), as one of the leading production factors; however, it will need to be – as we strongly believe – converted so it starts to play a socially-responsible part.
There is an abundance of empirical evidence and worldwide political consensuses that a new order is absolutely crucial. For quite some time now, social sciences, economics included, have been offering a whole series of alternatives designed to create a new post-capitalistic, or rather a post-neoliberal socio-economic paradigm.
In this effort, we made a step forward. In accordance the ISO standards 26000 and a number of other political-economic recognitions, we propose a new socio-economic system – we named it (comprehensively) socially-responsible management.
This paradigm (a coherent model of the global vison) is based on joint ownership, supporting political plurality that remains one of the foundations of exercising mankind’s political and economic rights and liberties. It would replace the current neoliberal globalisation that seems like a new imperialism based on individuality instead of the essential and adequate integrity.
This new comprehension of freedom and competition, taking into account social responsibility, i.e. responsibility of every individual for their impact on the entire society, i.e. people and nature, establishes new relationships among people as well as between people and objects, that will be implemented through innovative market connections and innovative indicative socio-economic planning, including the essential elements. Social responsibility must have priority over competition at every cost, limited by the finite natural resources and nature as well as the mission of the humankind. We need to forgo our illusion that the path to success for each individual is widely open. We humans always desire to be and to have simultaneously, which is – if at all – hard to achieve. We usually have sacrifice both nature as well as our mankind.
This new ambitious socio-economic paradigm also demands that a state, as we know it, be modernised, so that it does not act as a “policeman” nor as a “lean state” or “a lever of governance for the exploitation of the working class” or “totalitarian countries” governing every aspect of people’s lives, but should instead act a service to its residents that work so that they may live and thus create conditions for a happy and safe living environment for themselves as well as all others living in their community.
Mankind has reached a socio-economic point where each man must defeat their own desire to “have more”, even though they may not even need this “more”. This is the path to a socially responsible conduct that always represents a sum of many individual responsibilities while at the same time representing a new quality that will enable societies to survive. We could set social responsibility, if I may quote Kant, as a categorical imperative, nature’s commandment that binds each and all.
Social responsibility, being the core part of this discourse, mobilises all, no one may be excluded nor hurt. The result of such conduct is the effort of all players.
This study is based on verifiable facts; however, we offer common denominator of those aspects that would, in our opinion, enable the continuation of life and especially mankind. We strive to achieve socially responsible management of available resources, ensuring a transformed relationship towards nature and society and establishes an impartial allocation of manufacturing resources, international peace and social justice.
